Monday morning, any doubts about where the “establishment” of the Republican Party stands on the issue of disgraced former judge Roy Moore’s predilection for dating teenage girls were erased, by none other than Mitch McConnell himself, the leader of the Republicans in the Senate.

Surrounded by reporters, McConnell said in no uncertain terms that he thinks Moore should step down. Pressed on the exact reasoning, a reporter asked him, “Do you believe these allegations to be true?”

In the very first instance in at least two years in which I thought something a Republican said was actually decent, Mitch responded in the affirmative — but not just a simple “yes.” Very importantly, he specified that he believes the women making the accusations.

Here is the video of @SenateMajLdr saying he believes the women accusing Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexually assaulting a 14-year old and pursuing other teens. pic.twitter.com/169YSHlXym

Reactions to the Senator’s statement were, to say the least, mixed. I can’t stress how hard it is to actually believe something good could come from a Republican Senator, let alone the guy who publicly stated that his number one goal a few years back was to make Barack Obama a one-term president.

But for now, I believe him. And it’s got me all kinds of confused. Some of Twitter felt the same:

The bottom line is that if Mitch really believes the women, and honestly thinks that Roy Moore should step aside despite the fact that it almost certainly means giving up a Senate seat to a Democrat, he has something he can personally do about it.

Mitch McConnell can refuse to seat Roy Moore in the Senate, even if he wins.

Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Written by Andrew Simpson

Andrew hates long walks on the beach, glitter, and men's rights activists. He can usually be found with his long-suffering wife, who can usually be found asking him to please not order onions on that burger, babe.